Call for proposals ...

Charting new courses for learning and teaching

PebbleBash 2020 will take place 10 years to the month since the very first 'Bash. A lot has changed since that first conference. Since then, we've seen a shift in Higher Education towards student-centred, real-world learning and active, authentic assessment, which has seen educators, strategists and technologists seek new ways to support students within and beyond the classroom.

With the LMS or VLE often being too course and content centric to deliver on this ambition and support lifelong and life-wide learning journeys, practitioners across the globe are using PebblePad to chart new courses (and blaze entirely new trails) in learning and teaching.

With the theme of Charting new courses for learning and teaching, PebbleBash 2020 will once again have a strong focus on pedagogy, especially on learning and assessment design. Our mission here at PebblePad is to help students extract all they can from each step of their individual learning journeys. And so we are looking for submissions from the trailblazers, the innovators, and the forgers of new learning paths off the beaten trail, which tell of the journey to support, guide and develop students from induction to graduation, and beyond.

A new course for submissions

For PebbleBash 2020 we are charting a new course for our submission process. Instead of the traditional, quite prescriptive process of inviting proposals of particular formats, we would like to invite you to tell us what you would like to present, why and how. This new submission process will involve the following phases:

Expressions of Interest

Phase 2

Monday 30 September to Friday 11 October*

Designing the Program

Based on the submissions received we will develop a two-day program that best combines the proposed topics and presentation formats. Where necessary we will liaise with submission authors to negotiate formats to design the best possible program.

* Authors notified of outcome by Friday 11 October

Phase 3

Monday 14 October to Friday 13 December*

Developing the Detail

Once the program has been finalised, we will request further information from submission authors based on the allocated presentation format. This will include full case studies or papers for those who are keen to have their work published in the conference proceedings.

Presentation Style Options

Case Study

Case study sessions will be approximately 20 minutes presentation followed by 5 minutes Q&A.

All case study presenters will be invited to write a full case study for inclusion into the conference proceedings. Case studies typically identify an issue or problem, describe the curriculum solution or intervention, and report the results together with supporting evidence. The concluding section(s) consider next steps and suggest how others might adopt or adapt the experience. The overarching aim of the case study is for others to be able to understand, learn from, and build on the experiences of the author in their own context. A template will be provided for full case study submissions.

Ignite Presentation

Pecha Kucha, lightning, or 20/20 style presentations are becoming an increasing popular presentation format. They are less formal than a case study, though they do demand thoughtful preparation as presenters are required to tell their story in 20 slides each lasting exactly 20 seconds. These presentations are designed to be concise and fast-paced and aim to prompt further discussion afterwards.

Whilst the time to present is limited, this is compensated for by the opportunity to present to the entire conference audience. A dedicated facilitator will assist successful authors in the preparation and management of the presentations and posters.

Pearl Session

A Pearl Session involves a 3 minute presentation followed by a 15 minute activity. The 3 minute presentation is an opportunity to set the scene with a brief overview of a particular use of PebblePad or issue associated with use. The 15 minute activity needs to engage the full audience and must be interactive. These sessions will be delivered to the entire conference audience so the activity must be one that can be managed at scale with relatively little facilitation, for example, key questions for table groups to discuss, live polling, pair work, etc.

Panel Session

A Panel Session involves the facilitation of a small number of speakers on a key topic or question. Typically each speaker will deliver a very brief perspective and then there will be the opportunity for questions from the floor.

Other

If none of the above are quite right and you have an idea for a different presentation style that would suit your story please let us know. We are open to considering any options.